Anyone else have sleep paralysis during a nap?

I as well only have that happen to me during naps.

Never at night time sleep.

It freaks me out too!

It sucks because it usually happens when I really need to get up but I just can't. I try to avoid naps because of this. The last time I can remember thinking "move you stupid body" but that didn't work.

I have sleep paralysis really bad sometimes. it is usually when my sleep schedule is really messed up. for instance, last night I suffered from this about 4 times in a row. I would moved and then when I laid my head back down I would be stuck again. It can be really scary when it last for a long time, or when i am still dreaming. Noises in the house can make for a terrifying experience too.

I would recommend taking some magnesium if you are having these problems at night. Magnesium deficiency can cause many muscle problems and relaxing at night to sleep is one of them. I am able to sleep much better since I started taking it regularly.

You've been taking 20 minute naps OP???

it usually just happens when my sleep schedule is really messed up. ill have super vivid dreams, wake up like five times, and have sleep paralysis. last night i had this dream that i was drugged or something and i was trying to drive my care but i couldnt turn the lights on and then i went into a spin and couldn't even see where i was going. then i woke up and couldn't move. i heard noises in the house and I got this super strong feeling that a woman was trying to hurt me. Not being able to move i always have this feeling of pressure on me when im having sleep paralysis.

Wow that is intense! When I have it I know what it is any its just annoying but what happens to you sounds tramatic.

it is really freaky. the first time i had sleep paralysis i had fallen asleep face down. i was screaming and screaming but i couldnt move. its so weird like sometimes its like i can see myself moving but it takes an intense ammount of energy and in the end i never even moved. feeling like someone wants to hurt me is the worst that it ever is though because it feels like someone is sitting on my back. its just creepy.

6 years ago I experienced sleep paralysis while drifting off to sleep laying face down and I thought I had heard what sounded like an animal running across the floor and then jumping and landing on my back (felt pressure). I remember being startled for several seconds and not moving (or being able to move) and then I fell asleep soon after. Haven't experienced it since. Sometimes I do get the hypnogogia effects while drifting off to sleep. I have started awake to the sound of what sounded like gun shots going off beside my ears - other sound effects sometimes too.

Its crazy how your mind tries to make sense of anything that you might hear. i think for me maybe just bcuz the paralysis is scary my mind goes that way. i have found that the best thing i can do is just focus on trying to move some small part of my body, my hand, finger, something, then usually i can snap out of it. but there have been a lot of times when i freaked my girlfriend out bcuz during paralysis i was so scared i was screaming for help and my heart was racing so fast she shook me awake.

I have a droid nap app that says if you nap for any longer than 20 minutes then your body will go into a deep sleep and the benefit of the nap is destroyed. It makes sense because after the sleep paralysis happens I wake up completely fuzzy and feeling like I am half in dream world.

Call out to Jesus Christ in your thoughts.

im not sure how this would help

It definitely helped me.

The next day I was thinking about my experience and knew that I hadn't fallen asleep yet when it transpired , so I discounted that it could have been a dream. I just chalked it up as being a 'weird/unusual experience' and moved on. It wasn't until recently that I was reading other peoples' accounts of the 'pressure' type sensation that they report as well as learning that sleep-paralysis can occur 'pre-sleep' that I was able to connect the dots about my own experience.

I know it scares/frightens some people to experience but I feel the fear can be lessened/removed when a person explores and understands what is happening to their consciousness (in relation to their physical body) every time they enter the dream state.

:greenkarma:

i wish i knew more about it. It definitely can happen pre sleep. i can go in and out of it multiple times. it like if i lay my head back down i am stuck again. It never happened to me that I can remember before I was 18. Now it happens randomly ever since. For me it is always frightening because I usually get that weird sense that someone wants to hurt me and is in the room with me.

classic case of "old hags syndrome". look it up...you have nothing to worry about but a little magnesium will help you too!

[link to paranormal.about.com]

Sorry - I should have added a link to make it a little easier for ya ;)

Sleep paralysis is caused by changing your sleep cycle, alcohol consumption, and hyperventilation ( [link to www.normalbreathing.com] ). Don't try to fight it because you might cause nerve damage (people some times think the pain that comes from this is because they slept wrong on the bed). While in this stage you can use it to have as what they call an out of body experience.

Thanks for the tip, but I have been taking multivitamins for years daily. I just checked my label and there is definitely magnesium in there.

I thought my dad would think I was crazy when I explained to him that I had this sleep paralysis, but then he told me that he used to have it too when he was younger. He talked about feeling like he was outside of his body, but we never really talked about it much after that.

You wake up unable to move, barely able to breathe... you feel an oppressive weight on your chest... and you sense some evil presence in the room... The old hag strikes!

A reader writes:

About a year and a half ago, I was awoken in the night by a strong, warm breeze. I could not move and could not scream. It lasted about 30 seconds and was gone. I saw nothing. Last week it happened again. I was lying in bed and again was awoken. I felt a very strong force holding me down. I could not sit up. I tried to scream for my daughter and could not get any noise to come out. I tried to hit the wall with my arm and this force would not let me. It again lasted about 30 seconds and was over. I really don't believe in ghosts and didn't see anything at all. I am just really scared and confused.

Have you ever had a similar experience? The above incident is a classic example of what has become known as the "old hag" syndrome and is one of many such letters I receive from readers each month. The victims awake to find that they cannot move, even though they can see, hear, feel and smell. There is sometimes the feeling of a great weight on the chest and the sense that there is a sinister or evil presence in the room. And like the above reader, they are often quite frightened about what is happening to them.

The name of the phenomenon comes from the superstitious belief that a witch - or an old hag - sits or "rides" the chest of the victims, rendering them immobile. Although that explanation isn't taken very seriously nowadays, the perplexing and often very frightening nature of the phenomenon leads many people to believe that there are supernatural forces at work - ghosts or demons.

The experience is so frightening because the victims, although paralyzed, seem to have full use of their senses. In fact, it is often accompanied by strange smells, the sound of approaching footsteps, apparitions of weird shadows or glowing eyes, and the oppressive weight on the chest, making breathing difficult if not impossible. All of the body's senses are telling the victims that something real and unusual is happening to them. The spell is broken and the victims recover often on the point of losing consciousness. Fully awake and well, they sit up, completely baffled by what just happened to them since now the room is entirely normal.

Confronted with such a bizarre and irrational experience, it's no wonder that many victims fear that they have been attacked in their beds by some malevolent spirit, demon or, perhaps, an alien visitor.

The phenomenon occurs to both men and women of various ages and seems to happen to about 15 percent of the population at least once in a lifetime. It can occur while the victim is sleeping during the day or night, and it is a worldwide phenomenon that has been documented since ancient times.

"In the 2nd century, the Greek physician Galen attributed it to indigestion," according to The Encyclopedia of Ghosts and Spirits by Rosemary Ellen Guiley. "Some individuals suffer repeated attacks over a limited period of time; others have repeated attacks for years."

dont forget "For all their explanations, however, the sleep experts still do not know what causes the brain to screw up like this, or why some people experience it more than others."

and now for the scientific explanation: :) Enjoy...and sleep well!


The medical establishment is quite aware of this phenomenon, but has a less sensational name than "old hag syndrome" for it. They call it "sleep paralysis" or SP (sometimes ISP for "isolated sleep paralysis").

So what causes it? Dr. Max Hirshkowitz, director of the Sleep Disorders Center at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Houston, says that sleep paralysis occurs when the brain is in the transition state between deep, dreaming sleep (known as REM sleep for its rapid eye movement) and waking up. During REM dreaming sleep, the brain has turned off most of the body's muscle function so we cannot act out our dreams - we are temporarily paralyzed.

"Sometimes your brain doesn't fully switch off those dreams - or the paralysis - when you wake up," Hirshkowitz told ABC News. "That would explain the 'frozen' feeling and hallucinations associated with sleep paralysis." According to his research, the effect only really lasts from a few seconds to as long as a minute, but in this half-dream half-awake state, to the victim it can seem much longer.

In her article, "Help! I Can't Move!,"Florence Cardinal writes: "Sleep paralysis is often accompanied by vivid hallucinations. There may be a sense someone is in the room, or even hovering over you. At other times, there seems to be pressure on the chest, as though someone or something perched there. There may even be sexual attacks associated with the hallucinations. The sound of footsteps, doors opening and closing, voices, all can be a very frightening part of sleep paralysis. These are known as Hypnagogic and Hypnopompic Experiences and they are what make people dread an episode of sleep paralysis."

For all their explanations, however, the sleep experts still do not know what causes the brain to screw up like this, or why some people experience it more than others. But there are some theories:

"Episodes of paralysis can occur when the body is in any position, but happen most frequently when the sleeper is lying flat on his or her back. Intense fear is common, but sometimes other strong emotions, such as sadness or anger, are present," says Florence Cardinal in "The Terror of Sleep Paralysis."
For some, SP is often brought about by not getting enough sleep or being overtired. Likewise, disrupted sleep schedules or circadian rhythm disturbances can produce an episode of sleep paralysis.
It is more common in people who suffer from severe anxiety or bipolar disorder. Some research shows that SP is five times more likely to occur with people who are taking such anti-anxiety drugs as Xamax or Valium.
A study found that 35 percent of subjects with isolated sleep paralysis also report a history of wake panic attacks unrelated to the experience of paralysis.
How can you prevent sleep paralysis? According to clinical research, you may be able to minimize the episodes by following good sleep hygiene:

get enough sleep
reduce stress
exercise regularly (but not too close to bedtime)
keep a regular sleep schedule
"For some people this may not be possible, however," says Florence Cardinal, "so instead let's look at ways to escape from the grip of sleep paralysis. The best remedy is to will yourself to move, even if it's only the wiggling of your little finger. This is often sufficient to break the spell. If you can manage it, scream! Your roommate may not appreciate it, but it's better than suffering through a long and fear-filled episode. If all else fails, seek professional help."

Sounds like good advice. The bottom line is that you really have nothing to fear, in a paranormal sense, from sleep paralysis. That old hag you feel perched on your chest may be nothing more than the anxiety of living in a stressful world.

Thanks for adding some balance in relation to the other article. : )

Have you explored the metaphysical explanation?

Yep that article is right. I only remember have the problem when I am laying on my back. Luckily because of a hip issue I can't lay in that position too long without it becoming painful. It is just the craziest feeling to be completely seperate from your body. Its like you are just a floating brain in a meat suit.

What do u mean?

I remember my first old hag experience. My daughter happen to be sleeping in my bed that night when I awoke about 3am...completely panicked...frozen..couldn't move or speak...she woke up and started freaking out...and what scared me so much was the pressure on my chest and i actually 'saw' this old woman who was so wrinkled and evil looking and very grey and hunched over me....i finally was able to move my body but i felt like it took so long and to see my poor daughter crying like that, i guess gave me some strength to snap out of it!

The next morning, I mentioned to a coworker about this and she replied "oh yah...no biggie...it's the old hag who came to visit you. I immediately went to search the term out and back then, jpg images on the internet took a while to appear on a webpage. Well, what was really freaky was, while the jpeg image of someones line drawing of this hag they were describing... was EXACTLY the image I recall experiencing the night before. The more I looked into this and researched, it's quite a phenomenon around the world that people describe this exact 'witch' 'hag' with the same features and looks. I believe this 'witch' or hag is some old spirit from centuries ago.... I believe because of that experience.

Ok...now i'm a little nervous about going to sleep! LOL...nancy :)

im kind of confused.. why did your daughter wake up? this has literally happened to me at least 50 times and the person in bed with me never even knows about it unless i wake up still panicking.

i wasn't going to go there in my short story...but my daughter, who was 7 at the time - woke up because she felt someone in the room - and yes, she saw the old hag on top of me.

She is now 18 and remembers this like it happened last week. Very vivid...we've told the story a few times and of course our family thinks we're nuts...and now, you probably do too! lol!... 100 the truth. very weird.